The Rising Azimuth

by D D Mathews

  Colin picked first because he had won the last event. He put his hand into the velvet sack and pulled out a 1. Colleen was from the highest family, so she pulled second and got the 3. Seth pulled a 2, so did Ryan. Mandy was last and pulled the other 1.

  The crowd was restless, intoxicated, and excited for the main event. The O’Rinns were taking bets. Colin saw his dad and granddad in one corner clapping and cheering for him. The McCarthys were somber, acting above the fray. He saw Sarah standing with Aiden and Mr. Nygaard. Osmund’s plan seemed to be working. The entire clan was on the edge of pandemonium so the boxing needed to start soon.

  Colin and Mandy were led into the oversized ring formed by the crowd. Everyone was yelling and jockeying for better sight lines. Colin heard encouragements and insults. The atmosphere distracted him from his plan. Mr. Daly joined the fighters and yelled over the noise, “The first fight is between the Mandy Connelly and Colin MacDermott. The fight will start at the bell.” He moved back to the edge of the boxing space where someone handed him a cowbell.

  Instigator boxing was boxing with a twist. Each fighter tried to knock their opponent out, which was almost impossible or force them to change into a Were. Whoever changed lost. Some young werewolves threw haymakers till exhausted. Most tried any verbal attack to humiliate, aggravate, surprise, or scare their enemy into changing. Everyone’s trigger was different and some changed easier than others. The trick to win instigator boxing was to physically last long enough for your verbal assault to affect the other fighter.

  The cowbell dinged and Mandy advanced quickly. Colin was overwhelmed by the chaos and took two hard punches before recovering and covered his face. He didn’t want to punch her so he held off. She didn’t. After about thirty seconds of body blows from her tiny fists, he lowered his fists and she socked him right under the chin. He was knocked back, falling to the ground. He got up, now ready to fight. Colin advanced, using his clear size advantage and took a few jabs, which Mandy dodged easily. She slid into his chest and placed a sharp punch to his ribcage. She spoke fast, “Hit me.” He tried to swing at her. His clumsy attack was deflected by her forearm; she struck him right in the eye and bounced out of his range. He was getting his ass kicked. Since hitting her wasn’t working, not only because he didn’t want to, but now he wasn’t fairly certain he couldn’t. She was simply too fast. He advanced again as she taunted him loudly so the crowd could hear. They were going wild for the smaller fighter’s brazen attitude. Colin had to clinch her up and use his words. He swung high, intentionally, hoping she would move in for an attack. She took the bait and he grabbed her awkwardly and let his words do what his missed punches couldn’t. This was risky because if it worked, he would be hugging a tall werewolf who wouldn’t like him very much.

  “I’m sorry Mandy,” he started and cruelly added, “You disgust me, I’d never want a pathetic little girl like you.” Mandy kept punching harder and harder into Colin’s stomach; he would soon lose his breath and advantage. She pulled away as hard as she could. Colin held strong and whispered, “That was the worst kiss I’ve ever had.”

  Mandy exploded apart like before, in an instant. The gore of her human form splattered Colin and the nearby clan members. He was lifted off the ground by her change a second before her punch broke a rib and sent him flying across the ring. The cry from the tall werewolf was full of anguish. She stomped toward Colin. He couldn’t escape in time. She took three long steps and Reverted back into a young girl. She fell to her knees and cried hard into her hands. Colin crawled over to her, held her and apologized. The crowd was satiated by the first fight. No one watching saw Mandy as weak for losing or crying. Everyone knew the mind games being played even if they didn’t hear the specific words.

  “I’m sorry about what I said, it wasn’t true. It was the best kiss I’ve ever had. I just have to win the Ephemeris. I’m so sorry, Mandy.”

  She sobbed herself calm. Mr. Daly brought her original clothes and she got dressed. Colin should have helped her out of the ring, but instead she helped him. She walked him away from the boxing ring while saying “I’m sorry I broke your rib. You deserved it.” She laid him on the ground gently, her strength was impressive. She dug into a pocket and pulled a different ointment from it. Mandy was a walking first aid kit. Colin heard the noise of the second fight start in the background. She started by unwrapping the bandage from earlier. She applied ointment to his rib cage and reapplied the bandage.

  Colin laughed and pain shot through his entire body, “I hope we don’t have to do this for a third time tonight.“

  “Shhhh,” Mandy responded. She worked her magic and relief came quickly. The pain melted away; however, he knew winning another match would be tricky with the broken rib. Mandy looked down on her work, pondered for a second, and nodded to herself. By the time she had helped Colin to his feet the second fight was over, this time with much more fanfare. The audience loved it. It must have been bloody. When he and Mandy saw the ring, both Ryan Riley and Seth Daly were bloody and Seth was naked. Killian rushed his son’s clothes to him. Seth pulled on his pants before his dad helped him from the ring. Ryan danced around holding up his fists and bragging. His white shirt was now brown on the back from mud and the front had multiple blood drops and a red fist print on the right side. The fight must have been epic.

  Mandy held on to Colin, which he didn’t need anymore. Killian returned from tending his son while Colleen walked from her relatives to find out who she would fight. Her face showed nothing, cold, she didn’t seem to worry about anything. Killian yelled at the Were who had defeated his Seth, “Get over here, Ryan!” He did a few more shadow punches as he bounced over to the final three fighters.

  “Colleen fights next, versus one of you boys. Ryan, pick a number between one and ten.” Killian ordered.

  “Five.“

  “Colin, your turn.”

  “Six.“

  “The number was three. It’s your choice, Riley. Do you want to fight or let Colin fight her?“

  “I’m not afraid of either. I barely broke a sweat on that last chump. I’ll fight the ice queen. After her, you’re next clown, I mean Colin.“

  “Save it for the fight,” advised Killian.

  Colin was fairly certain he would have chosen the other way if given the choice. Mandy’s arm was wrapped around him still and his arm was wrapped around her waist. The kind gesture had turned into a de facto coupling for the moment.

  Colleen stepped back into the ring, unfazed by the taunting. The crowd was vicious. It was one of the only times the second Rille could scream and yell at the upper crust. She walked to the opposite corner like she was alone in a park enjoying the sun on her face. She blocked out the rabid werewolves of clan Celt. Colin knew Ryan was in deep trouble. Her size might mean she wasn’t a strong fighter but getting her to werewolf out of anger would be impossible for a fool like Ryan. Mr. Daly yelled over the crowd when Ryan finally settled into a different corner, “In that corner Ryan Riley.” The Rileys cheered loudly for their namesake. “In this corner Colleen McCarthy,” he added. No one cheered for Colleen. Her family expected she should win. And the rest of the clan didn’t want her to win purely out of spite. Finishing up, Mr. Daly said, “Wait for the bell and then come out fighting.” He moved aside right next to Colin and Mandy.

  The cowbell dinged and the fight began. The rambunctious crowd was about to witness something they had never seen before. Ryan left his corner while Colleen walked to the center of the ring, hands at her waist. Ryan wasn’t sure what was going on. He kept his fists up, cautiously as he danced toward her. The deference to the higher ranked families was supposed to be put aside during the Ephemeris however everyone knew it still affected things. Ryan moved in and threw a quick jab. Colleen never put her hands up. Blood started pouring from her nose. Ryan swung a haymaker and hit her in the side of the head. She wobbled, her head ringing a little. She retook her stance like before, upright, hands at her side. Colleen didn’t attack: she waited. Ryan
hit her again and again in the face and jumped back expecting retaliation. Colleen provided none. Ryan yelled at her, “Come on fight back.” He moved in and hit her with a left. She winched from the hit but didn’t fall. She stood there proudly as he hit her with more punches to the face. He danced out and back in and hit her in the stomach fast ten or eleven times like he was punching a bag in the gym.

  He stopped the hopping around and simply walked over to her and punched her as hard as he could in the cheek. The crowd was silent as they watched. She fell to one knee but still didn’t fight back or protect her face. Ryan grabbed her shirt and started hitting her again and again. This fight was turning into an assault. Blood was pouring from Colleen’s chin, cheek, above her eye and her lip.

  Colin broke ranks and took a step into the ring to stop this, so did five other older wolves, but nobody from her family did. Colleen put up a flat hand to the crowd. She called out loudly, “Everybody step back, this is almost over.” Even during this brutal attack, she was calm and in control. Ryan would have to knock her out or kill her because she wasn’t going to morph. She looked up at Ryan Riley and smiled, blood dripped from her mouth, “Please continue, sweet sir.” He wasn’t angry. He was confused. He knew hitting her to unconsciousness might take ten minutes or longer, and he knew killing a McCarthy would forfeit his life, so he had to change his tactics some. He hit her again solidly, half strength. And said, “Come on you stupid bitch, give up.”

  Punch.

  “Change, you stuck up witch.”

  Punch.

  “This isn’t strength, this is stupid.”

  Punch.

  Her face got bloodier and bloodier. “The clan shouldn’t have to watch your weakness.”

  Punch.

  Colin watched and understood Colleen was the strongest person he had ever seen. If he had to get in the ring with her, he would lose.

  “Surrender and change you fucking dog.”

  Punch.

  The fight was one-sided and Ryan was losing. The crowd was still dead silent.

  Punch.

  “You dumb cunt, do you want to die?”

  Finally, she reacted. Colleen lunged up catching Ryan flat-footed. He stumbled and she was on him in an instant. She wasn’t a lot shorter than Ryan, just enough so when she hugged him around the neck, her feet were off the ground. She twisted her legs around his waist. Ryan, slightly dazed, was woken up when she held his head tight and bit off most of his left ear. The blood sprayed the crowd and they were suddenly apoplectic. The silence was gone replaced by shouts, barking, and howling. Ryan’s human form exploded in one direction away from Colleen like water from a hose. Pieces of cloth and flesh showered the Celts from his corner. The angry werewolf threw Colleen all the way across the ring into the front line of the standing audience. She fell to the ground in a heap, Colleen had won. Ryan howled loudly to the sky in rage and pain. After morphing back he held the side of his head. The Revert had healed what was left of his ear. He would be deformed for the rest of his life.

  “You fucking stuck up cunt,” he yelled. His impotent rage had no recourse due to where his family stood versus her. His name calling would have to do.

  Colin was afraid. He didn’t want to fight Colleen, she was clearly stronger mentally, and maybe crazy too. Ryan pushed his way through the crowd opposite Colin and disappeared. Colleen regained her feet, spit Ryan’s ear onto the ground and wiped her mouth with her blood-soaked shirt sleeve. She was ready for her next fight. So was the crowd who were even louder than before. The vile words shouted at the fighters were enough to make the devil blush.

  Colin worried about what she was going to do to him. Colin’s family was the lowest, she could probably take his eyes and no one would say anything. He thought about giving up and changing the second the bell was rung. He would be called coward and all the work he had done tonight would be wasted. So the fight had to go on. He shuffled into the ring and headed to the opposite corner from Colleen. Bits of Ryan were still dissolving off the crowd. She stared him down trying to intimidate him, not that she needed to. Her ice-blue eyes never changed, no emotion showed. Killian came out into the center ring for the final. His voice was hasty as he introduced the fighters, “In that corner, Colleen McCarthy and in that corner, Colin MacDermott.” Colin was discouraged more when he heard the betting going on around his corner. He was a huge underdog and Colleen hadn’t thrown a punch in her first fight. Mr. Daly exited the ring and a few seconds later the cowbell rang.

  Colin took a boxing stance and so did Colleen. He wasn’t sure this was good news. He looked at his battered foe. Her beautiful delicate facial features were puffed up. Her lip was twice its normal size and her left eye was already fused close. Blood poured from a laceration on her forehead making her hair redder. She advanced and threw a punch. Her punch was strong and caught Colin in the shoulder. He was stronger but he knew he wasn’t going to win with punches. The last fight had proved that physically dominating her wasn’t possible. They traded a few jabs and danced around each other. Colin threw a quick left and moved in, not to punch but to talk. “You are amazing, the willpower you just showed.” He was rewarded with a strong punch in his broken rib.

  He whimpered as she responded, “Did that hurt, dog?” They fought closely, throwing half punches to the chest, shoulders, and stomach. Both took some licks but this fight would be decided with words.

  “I knew you were beautiful, but now I see your strength,” Colin whispered in her ear like a lover.

  “You can’t win this fight, I won’t let you,” she responded. She wasn’t clumsy like Ryan; she knew his family wasn’t the right pressure point.

  “Your spirit is incredible and after tonight everyone knows it, especially the guys.”

  “Your flattery disgusts me, I wouldn’t kiss you like that pathetic Connelly girl.”

  Colleen punched up to his face and caught him off guard. She interpreted this as hitting a nerve and pressed the topic while Colin kept up the compliments.

  He pushed her back and advanced quickly, striking her in her good eye. He hoped she would view this as him getting angry and waste her time talking about Mandy. Colin was protective of her. But he wasn’t going to morph because of her.

  “The most amazing thing I’ve seen from you was how you managed Killian.“

  “She has no tits; she’s flatter than a board. Your low-class children would starve,” Colleen insulted.

  Colin punched again at her face, missing on purpose. She had taken the bait.

  “Not many would be able to manipulate him as well as you,” he said.

  Colleen swung again into his ribs and broke another. He was getting to her.

  “You don’t care about ugly children or your low class.” His intentionally missed punch had destroyed his ruse. Colleen questioned herself, “If it’s not sex, why did you act that way toward Mandy?”

  Her punch to his shoulder stung, but they both stayed close still swinging half strength blows to each other’s midsections.

  Colin responded to her self-asked question with his own, “Why did you want Mr. Daly to follow the traditions?“

  She answered her own question, “You don’t want to fuck her. You want to protect her.“

  And he answered his, “You want me to win and ask Osmund to let me go to Scandinavia.“

  Colleen flinched first. She stopped going after Colin’s stomach and ribs and went for his face. He blocked most of them. He talked through her attacks. “Why is that important to you and more importantly to your grandmother? It must be serious to allow the lowest ‘dog’ to win all three events. Has Sarah seen something?“

  “I don’t care anymore, filth. I’m going to win this. Fuck you, fuck your ridiculous Dad, and fuck my grandmother. You will not win.”

  She started to switch to the ribs and when Colin lowered his guard she would go for his face. Colin knew this was fake outrage. If she truly meant her words, she wouldn’t have cussed so much, nor stayed in human form. He had h
er, he grabbed her around the arms, pinning her. He whispered into her ear, “When I win, I’m not going to Scandinavia, like your grandmother wants, I’m going to demand your hand in marriage and because of you, Osmund will grant it.“

  “No!” she screamed, pushing Colin away hard. He lost his footing and fell. “You can’t do that it will ruin everything!” This was the only thing the crowd heard from the two fighters’ duel of words. She evaporated, changing into a werewolf because she had failed her aunt. It was Colleen’s trigger, failure. She Reverted an instant later, almost completely healed. Her lip was swollen, but all her cuts were gone.

  She desperately rushed at Colin naked and screaming, “You can’t do that! We’ll all die, I cannot fail,” She fell to her knees grabbing his shirt. “Please don’t ask for that, please,” she begged. Her eyes were crazed. Her mask of calm was lost and she was a scared girl with too much responsibility and too much at stake. The crowd hoisted Colin up, as she wailed and bawled. Her vulnerability broke his heart, she had bested him. He would ask to go to Scandinavia.

  Chapter 11

  Nuri’s first fighting lesson came a few days after the rite of passage. She was in the office working on a guest list her aunt needed for another Amazon gathering. Nox exited Tamara’s office and paused next to Nuri’s desk.

  “You. Now,” she said and walked away to the elevator. Nuri dropped everything and hurried to catch up. She wasn’t sure if the woman had a good side. She just knew she didn’t want to be on Nox’s bad side. Nervous, Nuri was silent as they rode up to the fourth floor, so was Nox. The elevator opened into an empty completely gutted space. Only a couple of toilet drains in random places stood up from the floor. The windows out the front had black curtains covering them while a couple of work lamps lit the bare space from two corners.

  Nox strode out of the elevator into the middle, “Ready?” she asked and without waiting for a response, she transformed. Unlike during the battle when Nuri exploded from fear, Nox popped up out the back of herself like a kernel of popcorn. At first, her human form stayed intact then melted away. The scarred werewolf turned and attacked Nuri, who failed to respond. A swipe from her claw opened Nuri’s upper arm. Her shirt sleeve was covered in blood instantly.